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Occidental language
The language Occidental, later Interlingue, is a planned language created by the Balto-German naval officer and teacher Edgar de Wahl and published in 1922. Occidental is devised with great care to ensure that many of its derived word forms reflect the similar forms common to a number of Western European languages. This was done through application of de Wahl's rule which is actually a small set of rules for converting verb infinitives into derived nouns and adjectives. The result is a language relatively easy to understand at first sight for individuals acquainted with several Western European languages. Coupled with a simplified grammar, this made Occidental exceptionally popular in Europe during the 15 years before World War II, and it is believed that it was at its height the fourth most popular planned language, after Volapük, Esperanto and perhaps Ido in order of appearance. But some have believed that its intentional emphasis on European forms coupled with a Eurocentric philosophy espoused by several of its leading lights hindered its spread elsewhere.Harlow, Don. The Esperanto Book, chapter 3: "How to Build a Language". Still, Occidental gained adherents in many nations including Asian nations. Before WWII it had grown to become the second largest international auxiliary language in numbers of adherents, after Esperanto. Esperantists at the time claimed Occidental had at least 2,000,000 adherents. Also, a majority of Ido adherents took up Occidental in place of Ido.Cosmoglotta, October 1928, Num. 53(10), p. 142, 149-152, Ido-Congress in Zürich. Occidental survived World War II, undergoing a name change to Interlingue, but gradually faded into insignificance following the appearance of a competing naturalistic project, Interlingua, in the early 1950s. However, today with the emergence of the Internet, Occidental is once again increasing in popularity. Alphabet and pronunciation The alphabet of Occidental is: A(a), B(be), C(ce), D(de), E(e), F(ef), G(ge), H(ha), I(i), J(jot), K(ka), L(el), M(em), N(en), O(o), P(pe), Q(qu), R(er), S(es), T(te), U(u), V(ve), W(duplic ve), X(ix), Y(ypsilon), Z(zet) Pronunciation: * a': like f'a'''ther. IPA: * '''c: before e, i, y it is ts, otherwise k''. IPA: & ''respectively * cc: before e, i, y it is kt͡s, otherwise geminated k''. IPA: & ''respectively * ch: like English sh; ch in ch''ur''ch is also permitted but not preferred. IPA: & respectively * g''': like English j before '''e, i, y, otherwise it's hard. IPA: & respectively * gg: like English j before e, i, y , otherwise a geminated g''. IPA: & ''respectively * gu: before vowels gw, otherwise gu. IPA: & respectively * j''': just like English. IPA: * '''ni: before vowels like Spanish ñ'', otherwise ''ni. IPA: & respectively * ph: f'' * '''qu': same as English. IPA: * s': between vowels ''z, otherwise s''. IPA: & ''respectively * '''sh: English sh. IPA: * sch: English sh. IPA: * t': plus ''i and another vowel, it is like s (Such as in French), otherwise t''. IPA: & ''respectively * '''th: same as English. IPA: * w''': same as English. IPA: * '''y: same as English. IPA: * zz: tts. IPA: Example texts Li Patre nor, the Lord's Prayer, in Interlingue (ex Occidental): See also * Indo-European languages * Resume de gramatica de Interlingue (Occidental) in Interlingue, (e demonstration de leibilita!) * Li Europan lingues * Interlingua * Ric Berger References External links * Cosmoglotta Biblioteca- Preservation of Occidental texts. (Free registration required.) * A wiki with Occidental info.Auli-Occidental Wiki * William Patterson's Occidental Pages - Including the classic text Ex li paper-corb by Farfarello, from Cosmoglotta # 118, November/December 1937. * An English translation of the Haas Occidental grammar, by Dave MacLeod Category:International auxiliary languages